Jousting pulls in the crowds at birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots

25 July 2014

Historic Scotland has recorded its best ever single day crowd attendance for one of the centrepieces of its annual events programme – Spectacular Jousting.

The organisation, who look after 345 of Scotland’s heritage attractions, welcomed 7,082 visitors to the first Saturday of Spectacular Jousting at Linlithgow Palace – perhaps most famously known as the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots - beating the previous one day attendance record set in 2007. *

Over the weekend of Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th July, over 11,000 people descended on Linlithgow Palace and Peel for Historic Scotland’s annual jousting event, where knights are pitted against each other in a demonstration of bravery and skill.

The event is part of Historic Scotland’s wider events programme which helps bring history to life at historic sites the length and breadth of the country. This year’s event programme is part of Homecoming 2014, with events ranging from jousting to drama productions to exhibitions and guided tours.

“We had a bumper weekend in terms of visitors to our jousting programme with the Saturday setting an all-time record for visitors on one day of jousting.

“There is a huge amount of hard work that goes into bringing the event together, both behind the scenes, and on the day, to create a fantastic show which people return to year after year.

“These figures are testament to that hard work and we look forward to the return of the knights to the peel next year!”

Notes for editors:

Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.

Scotland welcomes the world in the Year of Homecoming 2014 providing a year-long programme of events alongside the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games. The Year of Homecoming Scotland will run until 31 December 2014 throughout the length and breadth of the country. Visitors from around the world are invited to join in a celebration of the nation’s food and drink, active pursuits, cultural heritage, nature and ancestral heritage. Homecoming Scotland 2014 is a Scottish Government initiative being led by EventScotland and VisitScotland, supported by numerous partners. To find out more visit www.homecomingscotland.com. For more on Historic Scotland’s Homecoming activities visit www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/homecoming or tweet us using #hshomecoming.